From RentCafe:
Record-Breaking 71K Apartments Set to Emerge From Office Conversions
Office-to-apartment conversions are surging in popularity, with 2025 set to reach a record-breaking milestone of almost 71,000 units in the pipeline. This surge comes amid a nationwide shortage of apartments for rent and intense competitionamong renters. More than just creating housing, this trend reflects a shift toward sustainable, community-focused urban spaces that cater to the evolving lifestyles and priorities of modern American cities. So, as remote work continues to reshape the workplace and a significant share of the U.S. office space remains empty, repurposing offices into residential spaces offers a practical response to the growing need for housing.
While the volume of office-to-apartments conversions is growing, indicating increased interest in this type of retrofitting, the carryover of pending projects from one year to another is quite large. This suggests that other factors like conversion feasibility, construction costs, and local incentives come into play. Of the 55,339 office-to-apartments in some phase of development in January last year, only 3,709 were completed by December, leaving 51,630 units that carried over into 2025. This, combined with 19,021 new proposed conversions, represents a significant 28% year-over-year growth in the pipeline at the start of 2025.
Notably, innovative office-to-apartment conversions are by far the most popular type of adaptive reuse project, accounting for almost 42% of the 168,500 future conversion projects — a considerable growth from last year, when this category made up 38% of all conversions. This comes in the wake of rising vacancy rates in office buildings across the country, stagnating rents, as well as declining commercial property values. All of this helps make revamping offices into unique living spaces more financially viable.
Interestingly, this trend has seen remarkable growth in recent years. For instance, in 2022, the number of upcoming office-to-apartment conversions totaled 23,100 units before nearly doubling to 45,200 in 2023. Then, the growth continued in 2024, when the pipeline reached 55,300 future apartments. Now, in 2025, it’s climbed to an all-time high of 70,700 offices to be converted. This significant increase highlights the evolving nature of America’s cities that are driven by shifts in living preferences and changes in work habits. Thus, as office spaces are reimagined to meet the demand for housing, it’s clear that adaptive reuse is playing a key role in reshaping urban landscapes.
Frist
Eddie going to Atlanta today for Nascar race. If plane go down, blame Trump, do a get together at my funeral, laugh at Eddie.
Tres
Enjoy the southern hospitality Eddie. Make sure you take a bite at Waffle House.
And when a stranger says hello, hello back.
Soccer tournament outside in Greenbrook today and it’s freezing out.
“laugh at Eddie.”
And scatter ChexMix on my grave.
Have Fun and dont feed the natives.
I’ve struggled my entire career to discern the difference between being right and being effective. A recent poll shows many moderates favor effective (move fast, break things) over right (checks and balances). Autocracies are seductive — in the short-term, they seem effective. A third of Americans, on both sides of the political spectrum, favor an autocrat as long as he (let’s be honest, it’s always a he) is aligned with their views.
Many/most Americans, thus far, don’t feel life is any different under the new administration, and they like the idea of taking swift action against problems they believe have spiraled out of control: border crossings, government largesse, woke ideology. The blitzkrieg of threatening to invade allies, renaming bodies of water, and surrendering to Putin has left many Americans, especially Democrats, flat-footed, waiting for the outrage. If you believe that democracy should not surrender — as Trump is urging Ukraine to do — then the seminal question is … what to do? Honest answer? I don’t know. However, I do have some ideas.
Master of Coin
Nobody had Elon Musk as Master of Coin on their 2024 election bingo card. Seizing the levers of the federal payments system was strategic and elegant, as it gave the White House a single point of control, with influence over government priorities and policies via control of money flows. I do something similar when my sons are misbehaving. Rather than attempting to parent (hard) I just remotely shut off their phones’ internet access. Department of Dad Energy (DODE).
With this seizure of power, and money is power, Musk can reward friends, punish enemies, impose his political will, and effectively “delete” government agencies and departments by shutting off funding without worrying about pesky constitutional oversight. This is techno-authoritarianism: Musk’s dominion encompasses the public and private sectors, physical and digital realms, and even space.
In a 2007 essay, Musk ally and DOGE co-architect Peter Thiel argued for a new Alexander the Great, i.e., a king or dictator, to “cut the Gordian knot of our age.” The chief obstacle, according to Thiel: America’s constitutional machinery. “By setting ambition against ambition with an elaborate system of checks and balances, it prevents any single ambitious person from reconstructing the old Republic,” Thiel wrote. My Pivot co-host Kara Swisher described this mentality as, “Let’s wipe the slate clean, then we’ll build the civilization we want.” The problem: A plurality of American citizens did not vote for this vision, much less these individuals.
Musk Over MAGA
Trump won. In our system, the ideas he campaigned on can now become policy, assuming he has the votes in Congress. Musk is the most powerful vice president in history, and he wasn’t even elected. See: The Time cover of Musk behind the Resolute desk, followed by that surreal Oval Office press conference where Trump played the role of geriatric bystander to Musk’s policy blitzkrieg. I believe when their giddiness re owning the libtards subsides, Republicans in Congress will realize they have created a monster they can no longer control. Musk’s digital coup subjugates the right as much as the left; his attempt to hijack the government also hijacks the MAGA agenda.
BTW, at some point Americans will realize the conservative/progressive battle is a misdirect. The real fulcrum, where the battle is being waged, is up/down — rich vs. not-rich. The wealthy and corporations, whom Trump and Musk listen to, will put up (largely) symbolic resistance to an emerging autocracy. They aren’t going to suffer, as the world now offers civil rights for sale: The 1% can move anywhere, buy influence, and ensure everybody in their circle has access to mifepristone. The “savings” from DOGE are, again, a misdirect from an enormous tax increase on today’s youth via the deficits we’ll register if Trump’s tax cuts go through.
Their Secret: An Obsession With Wealth
I know a lot of very wealthy tech executives and financiers. The key to their wealth? Yes, much of it is luck — not their fault. And much of it is talent. However, the real secret sauce is a focus. The acquisition of wealth is an obsession for the (wait for it) wealthy. Pro tip: Anybody speaking at a university who claims they “never thought much about money” is obsessed with it. The right’s defense of Musk, that DOGE is some patriotic gesture, is laughable. His focus, and his only focus, is becoming a trillionaire. His “volunteerism” is an attempt to clear the obstacles between him and greater wealth, specifically regulators and fair play. Musk cultists often offer the same “aw shucks, he can’t help himself … he’s so authentic” rap when he says/tweets weird, reckless, and just-plain-stupid things. However, his ID is always in check when it comes to saying anything about China — where officials likely feel they have leverage over Musk. So measured, so thoughtful, so disciplined. So …. obsessed with money. He recognizes he doesn’t enjoy the umbrella protection of the First Amendment in China, and accusing a member of the CCP of being a sex criminal (his go-to) would likely result in swift economic retribution. He may or may not suffer from Asperger’s, but he definitely suffers from being an asshole. And BTW, for those of you/bots waiting to fill the comments section with cries of TDS or an obsession w/Musk, you’re wrong. I have been clinically diagnosed with DAS (Democracy Addiction Syndrome). And, bitches, after four weeks of this nonsense/incompetence/surrender, my affliction is spreading.
Adult in the Cabinet: Credit Markets
If it’s possible to hold our government hostage by capturing the federal payments system, then we need to work upstream of Musk’s chokepoint. Already, the Treasury Department has exhausted roughly 60% of the extraordinary measures at its disposal to delay a default on our bonds. The rates on the 10-year Treasury bill, however, indicate that Congress will raise the debt ceiling, as both parties have done 78 times since 1960. But what if Democrats refuse?
A dozen GOP senators and 49 House Republicans — more than 20% of each conference — have never previously voted to raise the debt ceiling. Democrats have a strong hand here. If they credibly threaten default, rates on the 10-year T-bill will increase and equities will likely suffer. This will be painful, but the pain will primarily fall on the 1% and corporations, i.e., those who own 90% of assets and have influence over Trump. In effect, the markets could do what Congress won’t — rein in Trump, kick Musk to the curb, and demand the U.S. remain a nation of laws.
Upstream
In March the government will run out of money, unless Congress acts. If the government shuts down, roughly 3 million federal workers will stop receiving paychecks. Stiffing the military, air traffic controllers, and people who keep our food and water safe is stupid — it hurts them and us. At the moment, however, a sleep-deprived alleged ketamine abuser who makes Nazi salutes is cutting off funding for programs he dislikes and promising “buyouts” to federal workers with money that isn’t there. Hakeem Jeffries is correct when he says there’s little Democrats can do legislatively to stop President Musk. But Democrats shouldn’t do anything legislatively to enable him, either. Here again, Democrats have a decent hand to extract concessions, as a shutdown is upstream of Musk’s power.
Tesla Model SS
Musk’s wealth is the source of his power and his main point of vulnerability. One-third of his wealth is tied up in Tesla stock, which briefly rose after the election as the market priced in kleptocracy but has plunged 30% since December. I sold my Tesla a few years ago; I’m not down with accusing innocents of sex crimes (note: Musk won his defamation case, but there is no dispute over what he said) and making Nazi salutes. (Call me a reactionary.) Protests at Tesla locations across the U.S. indicate that others feel similarly. Tesla’s brand value dropped 26% YoY, due primarily to Musk entering the political arena. His behavior in Europe, where he endorsed Germany’s far-right neo-Nazi party, stoked a race riot in the UK, and stands accused of manipulating algorithms on X to influence public discourse in France, has hurt Tesla sales. In China, Tesla’s second-largest market, sales are down 11% YoY, while last month BYD sold 4x the number of EVs Tesla did. Musk’s politics are bad for America. We need to make them bad for his business.
Shoot for the Stars
Musk once tweeted, “Between Tesla, Starlink and Twitter, I may have more real-time global economic data in one head than anyone ever.” Q: Is it in America’s best interest for one man to have the combined power of Henry Ford, NASA, and William Randolph Hearst? Starlink is a great product, but the growing leverage it gives Musk over global communications is alarming.
His Orbit
Already, Musk controls half the satellites in orbit. He plans to launch up to 58,000 more in the next five years and proposes to eventually increase that number to 500,000. In politics, the pendulum always swings back. Democrats should be clear that when they retake Congress, they will assess Musk’s dominance in satellites and instruct regulators to act in the interest of national security. (Note: This is also good politics, as Musk’s popularity is dropping, even among Republicans.) Think of it as threatening to invade Greenland, if Greenland was space. In the meantime, Senate Democrats can block government contracts Musk companies rely on by filibustering funding legislation, as Republicans do not have a filibuster-proof majority.
Grow a Pair
When I interviewed historian Niall Ferguson on my podcast, he said British politics is a “game of cricket between people who went to Oxford,” whereas American politics is a “blood sport.” I’d argue Niall misses some nuance. Recently, Democratic politics have felt like a stern game of bridge at the rest home. For MAGA, the coarseness of our discourse is a feature, not a bug. Musk and Trump understand this. They spew violent rhetoric and leverage political violence like January 6, because fear is a useful tool for keeping followers and opponents in line. Yesterday, a DOJ official began falsely accusing people of “threats” to Musk and his team and sending letters to officials to “clarify” their comments (i.e., intimidate them). Yeah, free speech, unless it’s our guys. This is an attempt to cast a chill on opposing speech in what can be described as the fascist hymn.
(Speaking of fascist hymns, The WSJ reported on Feb. 19 that Linda Yaccarino is now a brick in the fascist wall, threatening to leverage her dear leader’s influence to block the IPG/Omnicom merger if they do not advertise on her platform.)
Despite credible threats, Trump has removed security details protecting his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, General Mark Milley, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, to name a few. In response, Democrats marched to a Federal building and did their best impression of a seniors facility when Jell-O night’s been canceled. Democrats should make clear that, when they return to power, Trump and anyone else engaging in the digital coup will also lose their security detail. It’s about incentives. We need to move beyond the strongly worded letter.
Let Them
What I’ve outlined above is slow and incomplete, compared to the speed and destructive force of a 19-year-old computer engineer high on Mountain Dew. My concern is for America, but I’ll be fine. The people who will pay a far greater price are Trump voters, who believe this fight is for them. It’s not, it’s against them — red states receive more federal funding than they pay in taxes.
We Won … Right? Maybe Not
Republican leaders, who are under the delusion they control the power of the purse, and won, are instead quietly expressing concerns over what DOGE cuts mean for their constituents. Dismantling USAID hurts Kansans who sell their crops to a government program that fights hunger abroad. NIH cuts threaten jobs in Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, and other red states. One of Louisiana’s Republican senators believes plans to gut the FBI will hurt his state. Cuts to the VA fall on a key Trump constituency, as veterans skew Republican by 2 to 1. Delete the Department of Education? Trump carried four of the top five states that receive Title I funding for low-income students: Louisiana, Mississippi, Arizona, and Alabama.
Drizz
Amid a chaotic transition, the White House mistakenly elevated the wrong person to acting FBI director. In any other administration, this kind of fuckup would’ve been endless fodder for comedians and congressional investigations. In this administration, it barely gets a footnote. Brian Driscoll, aka Drizz, will likely be fired soon, but the G-man’s response to an attack on his colleagues and the rule of law is a lesson in leadership and masculinity: defaulting to protection. By refusing to comply with an unlawful order to name the 6,000-plus FBI agents who worked on January 6 cases, Drizz may have only delayed the inevitable.
But he succeeded in sounding the alarm and stiffening the resolve of his peers. The lesson? Submitting to a (second) insurrection without a fight will only make the insurrectionist bolder, but fighting, even if we lose, weakens him, as it inspires others to do the same. Think about this: A man who makes Nazi gestures owns the majority of satellites and space-launch capacity and has usurped the power of the purse and Congress. The same man is openly threatening other companies with government retribution if they don’t spend money on his companies. Democrats and Republicans: This isn’t a time to come together, but to the rescue.
Life is so rich,
Galloway is very salty. He placed a 358k bet on polymarket for the election and lost. He’s just another fake intellectual that operates on crappy data.
Master of coin, that’s a good one.
“Remember, I can do whatever I want to whomever I want.”
It sounds like President Trump, to the world. But it was Caligula, to his grandmother.
At least America’s Emperor of Chaos has not made his horse a consul. Yet.
A horse might be better than some of the sketchy characters surrounding Trump.
After pillaging and gutting the U.S. government, the Western alliance and our relationship with Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump is thinking of himself as a king and cogitating on a third term. He basks in the magniloquent rhetoric of acolytes genuflecting to an instrument of divine providence.
At the Conservative Political Action Conference this week, a group calling itself the “Third Term Project” erected a sign depicting Trump as Caesar. A wag on X wondered if they knew what happened to Caesar.
America was forged in the blood and fire of rejecting tyranny; its institutions were meticulously formed around the principle that we would never be ruled by a king.
Yet Trump delights in reposting memes of himself as a king and as Napoleon, with a line attributed to the emperor: “He who saves his country does not violate any law.”
After tangling for years with a legal system he claimed was out to get him, Trump is jonesing to be above the law. (The Supreme Court slapped him back Friday, at least temporarily, for firing a government watchdog.)
His dictatorial impulses were clear when he refused to accept the results of the 2020 election and egged on a mob to disrupt the certification of the election, even if it meant that his own vice president might be hanged. And now he has added imperialistic impulses, musing about taking over the Panama Canal, Greenland, Canada, Gaza, D.C., and mineral rights in Ukraine.
His megalomania has mushroomed. His derisive behavior toward Zelensky — how can a modestly talented reality show veteran mock Zelensky as “a modestly successful comedian”? — shows Trump can’t abide anyone saying he is doing anything wrong.
When The Associated Press refused to go along with his diktat to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, the news organization was barred from covering some events with the president in the Oval Office and on Air Force One.
The A.P. sued Friday afternoon. “The press and all people in the United States have the right to choose their own words and not be retaliated against by the government,” it said, adding, “Allowing such government control and retaliation to stand is a threat to every American’s freedom.”
Also on Friday, at a meeting with governors in the White House, Trump stopped abruptly to chide Gov. Janet Mills of Maine for resisting his executive order barring transgender athletes from women’s sports.
“You better comply, because otherwise you’re not getting any federal funding,” the president warned the Democratic governor.
“See you in court,” she shot back.
Of course, Trump needed the last word. Of course, it had to be nasty. “Enjoy your life after governor,” he said, “because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”
As Shawn McCreesh wrote in The Times, nobody had seen such a moment since Trump came back to the Oval: “Somebody defied President Trump. Right to his face.”
I’ve been reading a book called “How to Be a Bad Emperor: An Ancient Guide to Truly Terrible Leaders,” written by Suetonius and translated by Josiah Osgood. Osgood writes of Caligula’s “propensity to give in to every whim and the relish he took in putting down others with cruel remarks.”
As Suetonius noted about Caligula, “To the Senate he showed no more mercy or respect. He allowed some who had achieved the highest offices to run alongside his chariot in their togas for several miles or to stand, dressed in a linen cloth, at the head or the foot of his couch as he dined.”
Sound familiar?
Some Republican lawmakers spoke up about Trump, JD Vance and Pete Hegseth caving to Russia — going against a long history of Republicans treating Russia as the “Evil Empire” — or at least with a healthy skepticism. When George W. Bush, as president, said he could look into Vladimir Putin’s eyes and see his soul, John McCain warned that Putin was a “thug” and a “killer,” noting that when he looked in Putin’s eyes, he saw “a K, a B and a G.” But those who spoke up against Trump did not seem ready to do much about it. They’re still cowering before him. As Politico reported, Trump allies moved quickly to stifle dissent with the party’s defense hawks: “Vice President JD Vance and several administration officials who are close to Donald Trump Jr. have been central to the effort to sideline those with traditional conservative foreign policy views.”
After Trump ranted that Ukraine had “started” the war and that Zelensky was a “dictator,” the normally doting New York Post felt the need to put Putin on the front page with the headline: “President Trump: This Is a Dictator.”
The most vivid image of the week was an elated Elon Musk waving a chain saw at CPAC. That glee in the face of pain may come back to haunt Trump. As The Washington Post reported, many lawmakers got an earful from angry constituents about layoffs, freezes and jagged cuts, a hollowing out of government with no sense of logic or heart or safety.
Many who had hoped to tune out Trump this time realize they don’t have that luxury. It’s far more dangerous now. There are frightening moments when our 236-year-old institutions don’t look up to the challenge. With flaccid Democrats and craven Republicans, King Donald can pretty much do whatever he wants to whomever he wants.
The post Fail, Caesar! appeared first on New York Times.
LAX,
I‘ve had to tell my wife to stop watching the news. Trump is every where, every day. We‘re only through the first four weeks and the news media is exhausted.
I removed all but the last two meters of fence separating our yard from our new property. Fairly warm here the last two days so I cut out bushes that were on the property line along the fence. The nice thing about buying our neighbor’s house is it increases the value of both properties by having them together. The garden is really big now, at least by German standards.
The reason Trump is acting as quickly as he is, is To backlog all of the judges who would be finding most of his actions illegal. I’m sure he’s hoping that many of these actions will be impossible to reverse if they take long enough to be fought for in court.
Would you expect anything less from a MAGA dictator?